Free Monky
by Bob Wright
Summary: An investigation at an aquarium leads Monk to a new unexpected friendship.  NOW COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

FREE MONKY

BY

BOB WRIGHT

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not much to give here, except that if you've followed the series of stories so far, you won't have to look too much up, as usual. Adrian Monk and all related characters and indicia are registered trademarks of USA Network, Mandeville Films, and Touchstone Television. And now, as always, sit back and enjoy the story.

* * *

"...Mr. Monk? Mr. Monk, haven't you been at it long enough!?" 

Adrian Monk turned off his sandblaster and raised the hood on his radiation suit. "What?" he asked.

"Mr. Monk, you've been at it for nearly three hours now," Natalie Teeger had her arms folded disapprovingly across her chest, "I've told you, it's just fine."

"And I'm telling you, it's not," Adrian countered, "And since I've had far more experience with these things, I think, I think you'll have to trust me on this one."

"Does ANYONE have experience sandblasting chimneys besides you?" she raised an eyebrow, "Now they're not going to notice if a couple of bricks aren't even."

"But it would be common courtesy to make sure they are," he answered back, "After all they are a professional television crew, and they tend to notice these things. It won't take much longer, trust me. There's just a few more bricks to go."

He flipped the hood back down and turned the sandblaster back on full power before she could bring up any further arguments against him. Judging by the clock, he had about ten more minutes left before the crew from KNTV arrived to do their interview with him as part of their advance promo for the premiere of the second season of the show based on Adrian's life later in the week. The detective would have been happy if it had made just one season, and had been amazed, much like the rest of the viewing public, it seemed, that it had not only garnered incredible ratings, but that the actor playing him had been nominated for an Emmy. The one down side, though, was that lately, he couldn't leave his apartment without being mobbed by tons of people, either wanting his autograph or to mock him. At any rate, he had to make sure everything was set up perfectly at Natalie's for the interview, including making sure the bricks in the chimney were all nice and even.

"There, that's the last of them," he proclaimed, shutting off the sandblaster for good.

"And it only took three hours and seven minutes this time," Julie proclaimed from the sofa, glancing at her watch, "A new record."

"Well now at least we can clean all this up," Natalie glanced around the living room, which was covered from wall to wall with industrial plastic that Adrian had laid over everything to make sure no dust from the chimney had gotten on anything.

"Wait, wait, I think I missed a spot on one brick," Adrian revved the sandblaster back up. He pressed the drill against the nearest brick...and half the chimney promptly caved down through the fireplace. "Well, that's shoddy craftsmanship right there," he commented, hastily scraping up the debris, "You should call up the contractor, Natalie, you've got a strong case for...why are you looking at me like that?"

Natalie was extending her hands towards his throat with a strained expression, but fortunately, it was at that moment that the doorbell mercifully rang. Julie opened it. "You're from TV?" she asked the newcomer.

"Cynthia Yost from KNTV," the woman with the microphone nodded, "Is Adrian Monk in?"

"Right, right here," Adrian raised his hand and took off the hood completely, "Forgive, forgive the mess; Natalie's chimney's a little faulty, I was just fixing it."

Yost glanced with an expression that bordered between interest and confusion at the plastic all over the living room. "Well, if you're ready then, Mr. Monk, perhaps we could do this interview. I don't mean to rush, but I am on a somewhat tight schedule today; they want me in San Jose within an hour to..."

"Actually, we, can we...your broach, it's all wrong," Adrian pointed to the opal one around Yost's collar, "It's meant to be the sun, but two of the rays aren't the same size as the others. Could you go get one that is even, please? We can wait."

"Did you even hear what I said, Mr. Monk?" Yost was already starting to sound frustrated.

"Or perhaps Natalie could lend you one of her own if you can't," Adrian glanced at his assistant for approval, but quickly added, "or not," upon seeing she would clearly not have wanted to do that. He quickly took off the rest of the radiation suit and plopped down in the nearest armchair. The plastic crackled under his weight. "I, I guess any time you're ready, then," he told Yost reluctantly, "But if you could turn away so I can't see...if you understand what..."

Yost was ignoring him. She gestured for her cameraman to set up a proper shot, then counted him down to the start of the piece. "There are very few shows on TV that seem to ignite the imagination of the public any more these days," she began into the camera, "One of San Francisco's native sons, however, has become the subject of one that recently has. After a very successful first season, new episodes about the adventures of our own Detective Adrian Monk will begin airing this Friday evening. I'm here with the man himself right here; Mr. Monk, what have you thought of the show so far when you've watched it?"

"Um," Adrian reached down and began fiddling with the plastic under him; it felt wrinkled, "I, I like it, actually, it's, it's pretty accurate, really; a couple of things get changed every now and then, but by and large what you see on screen is what actually happened. It's, it's become a tradition that we go over my to brother's to watch it--I think you'll be formally meeting him this season, if what they told me about the schedule this season was right, and then afterwards...we're, we're not live, are we? I should point out, crowds really don't make me comfortable."

"No, this is live to tape," Yost informed him, looking puzzled as to why that would even be a factor, "Would you relate to the viewers how this show came to air in the first place?"

"Well, a few Christmases ago, when Sharona came back to visit, Benjy showed me the script he'd written about me," Adrian related, "When I helped to arrest Roger Chalmers at Disneyland last year, I convinced the people at Disney they might have something valuable in that script. Several revisions later, it became what viewers have seen Friday nights."

"So, not to spoil things for viewers, but you and Sharona have since reached a parting of the ways, then?" Yost's gaze instinctively fell on Natalie in the corner, whose brow furled deeply. Adrian had seen that furl a lot more over the last year, when people had been increasingly asking her, "what she'd done with her hair," ignorant that she was another person entirely. Since Natalie rarely if ever liked being compared to other people, it had naturally been a little hard at first to go through it, but she had gotten somewhat better over the last few months about it.

"Uh, sort of," the detective added quickly, "I'd, I'd rather not spoil anything for viewers, however, so if you...first, can we switch seats? This just doesn't feel right here."

Yost sighed wearily, but complied with his request. "Next, do you have a favorite episode?" she continued the interview once it was done.

"Um," Adrian paused thoughtfully, "That, that's a good one. There's been so many good ones so far. If I had to pick one, though, it would probably have to be the time I met Willie Nelson. I know Trudy liked that one, wherever...wherever she is now."

His expression got much more dismal. "If, If I may, that's why I'm glad this show has been a success," he stated, his eyes no longer staring right at the camera, "Now that more people out there know what happened to her, I'm hoping there's more of a chance that somebody can come forward with any information at all that might bring an end to the torment I feel, day in and day out. It's torture like you can't imagine."

He sighed deeply, knowing deep down how much he'd give to have his wife see how famous he'd become--it was miserable enough not to be able to share the moment with her directly. "I understand," Yost looked sympathetic to his feelings, "So anyway, what can we expect to see this coming season?"

"Well, for one thing...can we switch again, this isn't right here either," Adrian protested. Yost let out a full howl but once again went along with it. "As I was saying, you..." the detective began again, but suddenly the doorbell rang again. "Monk, are you in here?" came the familiar voice of Lieutenant Randall Disher.

"We're taping for the show," Natalie called to him. Disher stuck his head in through the door. "Cynthia Yost, pleasure to meet you," he flashed her a big smile, "Care for a little more to this piece?"

"If I wasn't on a time schedule, maybe I could," Yost shook her head, prompting the lieutenant's expression to briefly fall. "Uh, anyway, when you're done here, Monk, the captain wants you," he said once he recovered, "There's been something at the Aquarium of the Bay we might need you for."

"I'll be right there," Adrian told him. He turned back to the camera and finished with, "Any, anyway, I think the viewers are going to like what they see in the next month or so, it's, it's good. And I guess that's...could we start over again from the beginning, that lamp shade behind me there's crooked, didn't notice it until..."

Everyone in the room growled this time. "On second thought, it was good," the detective rose quickly from his seat. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Yost, I hope everything comes out OK with this story. Well, best to be off."

He started towards the door, then stopped in midstep and strode back over towards the chimney, where he picked up a briefcase. "Best to be prepared," he told anyone who cared to listen, "There's a strict amount of supplies you need when going to an aquarium, so better make sure I have all of it first."


	2. Chapter 2

"...radiation suits, anti-disinfectants, water purifying tablets,..." Natalie ticked off the contents of Adrian's briefcase, "I'd say you're ready for action."

"Are you sure nothing's missing?" Adrian skimmed over them himself, "If we have to have close contact with any creatures, I can't be caught off guard."

"These are marine creatures, Mr. Monk, they're not going to hurt you," she chided him, "Most of them are behind glass anyway."

"You still don't think these things out, do you?" Adrian mumbled cryptically. The two of them hopped out of the car and followed a waiting Disher up Pier 39 to the Aquarium of the Bay's main entrance. The stoic figure of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer stood by the doors, puffing away tersely on a cigar. "Good, Monk, glad you could make it," he greeted his best man, "We've got something in here that warrants your attention, we thought. Name's...Monk, come on, please pay attention for once!"

The detective was already squirting down the glass on the front windows with a bottle of cleaner and wiping them down. "I'm listening, go on," he told them without turning around.

"The victim's name's Bob Nack; he was the head of the live whale shows here," the captain explained, "He was found this morning being had for breakfast by one of his 'children.' We all suspected it was some freak accident, that he fell in or something, but the trainer insists it was something more, so if you'll just let that glass go for a moment, we can go check out the scene and get your vote on the matter."

He swung the door opened and gestured them inside. The aquarium was filled with groups of people milling around towards the various exhibits. The corridor leading to the main whale tank, however, was barricaded off with a velvet rope and a sign enscribed AREA CLOSED FOR REPAIRS. Stottlemeyer lifted up the rope for them to go under. Adrian however, strode over towards the nearest bathroom. "It's THIS way, Mr. Monk," Natalie gestured towards the exhibit.

"Got to get ready," Adrian called over his shoulder. He disappeared into the bathroom with his briefcase, and when he emerged a good fifteen minutes later, he was clad in yet another radiation suit. "Think it took you long enough to get ready, Monk?" Stottlemeyer mumbled sarcastically at him.

"I would have been out sooner, but a couple stalls hadn't be cleaned; had to take care of that," Adrian explained, "I'm, I'm ready now."

The four of them entered the exhibit. The whale tank was about thirty feet in diameter and about twenty-five feet deep, Adrian noted--not quite the specifications a whale would be comfortable with. Indeed, even now, he could make out a dark shape swimming very slowly in the far corner of the tank, and he could tell right away the whale was unhappy. Stottlemeyer led the way over to clump of officers surrounding a rather attractive young woman in her twenties. "Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, homicide," he flashed his badge at her, "I'm in charge of the investigation, this is..."

"I know," she nodded, "I watch the show. Adrian Monk," her eyes went a little wider to see him wearing his radiation suit, but quickly returned to normal, as if watching the show had conditioned her to expect the unexpected with him, "I glad they called you; I knew Riptide wouldn't have..."

"Riptide?" Disher inquired.

"He's our new orca," the woman pointed at the whale in the tank, who exhaled through its blowhole at that exact moment, "He was brought in two weeks ago so we could nurse him back to health. You see, he was pretty badly injured when a group of poachers attacked his pod; he wouldn't have made it without our help."

"That's absolutely terrible," Natalie looked repulsed that anyone would want to treat a creature so badly, "Did they catch whoever did it yet?"

"No," the woman shook her head, "I'm told they haven't even gotten any leads. Riptide was pretty emotionally shattered; they took his mate and child even though he tried to fight them off.

"So...he lost his wife too?" Adrian stared at the whale in amazement, "So...we're, we're the same. Our lives have both gone irreversably down the drain."

There was a brief silence. "So anyway," Stottlemeyer tried to veer the investigation back on course, "They told me you were the one who found the body, miss..."

"Bonnie McCloskey, I train the whales and dolphins here," she told him, "Yes, I came in for the morning shift, and found Riptide holding Mr. Nack in his jaws, dead. But I don't understand it. He never abused Riptide during his time here, and Riptide never showed any hostile feeling towards us before. Plus, the door in was locked, and, well, I couldn't find the keys anywhere."

"Including on Mr. Nack's body?" Adrian glanced towards one of the officers nearby, who shook his head. "That's very interesting," the detective paced slowly around the edge of the tank, "Something here doesn't seem to be adding up. Was Nack still here when you left last night, Mrs. McCloskey?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'm always the last one out, and I lock everything up afterwards. What he'd come back here for, I don't know."

"Was he suicidal?" Disher proposed.

"Now Randy, do you really think a guy who wants to die would do so by throwing himself into the mouth of a big fish?" Stottlemeyer pointed out to him.

"Not Mr. Nack, he was living a happy life to date; stable marriage, several children," Bonnie protested, "And Riptide's a mammal, Captain, not a fish, he breathes air like you and I."

"It wasn't suicide," Adrian was pacing back and forth at a faster clip, "This was murder. But I don't think he was killed here. "Look here on the water marks," he pointed to the floor, "There are footsteps here, but none of them match Nack's shoes," he gestured to the soles sticking out from under the sheet covering Nack's body nearby, "He was already dead when his body entered here."

"So if he was dead, how did the whale do it, then?" Stottlemeyer was completely puzzled now.

"It's a mutant whale," Disher abruptly proposed, "It can walk on land, so it crawled out and bit him to death, then climbed back into the tank, knowing no one would be the wiser. Miss McCloskey, was anyone carrying any radioactive materials around here lately that might have gotten into the tank?"

"Anyone with a REAL theory?" the captain inquired as calmly as he could.

"Maybe," Adrian had lifted up the sheet and was examining the body closely, "There are bite marks here, but the one in the middle somewhat deeper and is shaped a little differently. The killer stabbed him first, then threw him to the whale to make it look like it did it. But who would do it?"

Everyone instinctively turned towards Disher. "Uh, well, there is one other theory,..." the lieutenant said slowly.

"Don't tell me, let me guess," Stottlemeyer rolled his eyes in distaste, "It was the Sea Witch. She made a deal with him to give him money and power, then she ran him through and took his soul, and then possessed the whale to bite on him in order to frame it, am I right?"

"How did you guess, sir?" Disher was impressed. Stottlemeyer stiffled a growl and dug out his stress yo-yo. "These things happen, these things happen," he grumbled loudly as he bounced it all over the place. There was another loud puff as Riptide surfaced not more than five feet away and stared at everyone almost imploringly. "Poor guy," Natalie bent down and gave it's nose a rub, "First having to lose your family and then being put through this. Well, Mr. Monk's going to get you out of this, right Mr. Monk?"

"Please, don't touch it, I, don't!" Adrian grimaced, "All right, if you don't take your hand off it right now, Natalie, I'm going to have to dock half of your next paycheck."

"No you won't," she said without turning around.

"Yes, I most certainly will."

"No you won't; since you pay me nothing in the first place, there's nothing for you to take away," she rebutted, then turned back to the whale with an affectionate look, "If only you could tell us exactly what happened, we wouldn't have to be here."

"That's a great idea," Disher gave her a pat on the back, "Maybe it CAN tell us something if we can communicate with it."

He bent down and started making loud squeaking sounds towards Riptide, who paid no attention. Stottlemeyer gave his adjutant a sharp kick in the rear to make him stop and flashed him an aggravated look. "Well, it was just a thought," the lieutenant said quickly, "Uh, maybe we'd better go look around to see if there's anything evidence in the back."

They all started walking off towards the back door. Adrian stopped when he heard Riptide exhale loudly behind him. He glanced back to see the whale was following him like a dog. "Uh, no, you, you can't come with us," he told it, "I, I know where you're coming from, but, um, that's kind of as far as we can go. Here, let me do this for you, though."

He dug a bottle out of the radiation suit's pocket and shook a handful of tablets from it. "Wait, what do you think you're doing?" Natalie took hold of his hand before he could toss them into the tank.

"Trying to do my good deed for nature for the week," he raised a puzzled eyebrow, "This tank is clearly not clean enough, so I'm fixing it."

"Toilet-cleaning tablets!?" she stared in shock at the them in his gloved palm, "Do you really think throwing a whole bottle of them in there's going to be good for this whale, Mr. Monk!?"

"Yes, for the simple matter that they don't sell them in jumbo size," he gestured at the tank, "Now even you can know that this whale probably...with nowhere else to go, it has to...it goes to say this tank would be incredibly unclean, so I'm doing it a huge favor."

Riptide exhaled again and leaned his head over the edge of the tank, prompting Adrian to take two giant steps backwards. "Will you stop being so skittish!?" Natalie chided him, "He's not going to hurt you. I think he just wants to pet him."

"Tell him I'll take a raincheck, and I'm not good with animals in general," Adrian shook his head firmly.

"He does not have any germs," she told him equally firmly, "At least take off that dumb suit; there's nothing in here that's going to kill you."

Adrian glanced hesitantly back and forth between her and Riptide. "You'd better be right," he told her, reluctantly removing the hood. "Hello," he waved at Riptide slowly, "I'm, I'm Adrian Monk, I guess you don't watch TV, you might..."

Without warning, Riptide smacked his tail against the water, completely drenching the detective in H2O. Adrian let out a high shriek and started shaking spastically. His eyes rolled back into his head as if he was having a seizure. "Paramedic!" he whimpered in a high voice, as he stumbled towards the door, "Help, I'm dying!"

"You're not dying, Mr. Monk," Natalie looked torn between laughing at his predicament and being scared by it, "It's just a little water."

"A LITTLE WATER!!??" the detective shrieked again and ran blindly towards the door, "Get me away from them, somebody! She and the whale are both mental! HELP!!!!!"


	3. Chapter 3

"That's it, nice easy breaths, Monk," Stottlemeyer told the detective, patting him on the shoulder. His associate was seated on a bench in the back of the aquarium with his head between his legs, trying to stop hyperventilating. "Like I said, you're all dry now."

Adrian slowly raised his head. "Nothing to worry about!!??" he turned to Natalie with a sour look, "You're lucky I can't live without you, or I'd have you tossed for that!"

"Here, I've got extra towels if he needs them," Bonnie entered holding several rolls.

"I'm, I'm OK now, I think," Adrian waved them off, "I will have to think about restructuring my payment system a little," he shot Natalie another hard look, "But I'll be fine, I guess."

"What's that goofball doing here?" came a new voice from the doorway. Another woman in her mid 20s or so, with darker hair and a drawn, admittedly somewhat ugly face, had arrived and was staring at Adrian with a pensive glance.

"Mr. Nack was killed last night, Louise," Bonnie greeted her very coolly, "They called in Adrian Monk."

"They wouldn't have needed to," the other woman snorted, "I've told you all along that whale was trouble."

"It was NOT Riptide!" her associate shouted, "And I'm tired of you making him out as some monster!"

"Time out, ladies," Stottlemeyer raised a hand, "Miss, may I ask who you are?"

"Lousie Bentley, the more EXPERIENCED trainer," she returned the ugly glanced Bonnie had given her, "That whale displayed angry tendencies the moment it was brought in, so I knew it was only a matter of time before it snapped and hurt someone. Now I'm going to have to call animal control and have it put down like I should have been able to in the first place."

"No you're not," the captain shook his head, "This is an ongoing investigation, and that whale is not to be touched until it's solved, my order."

"And I'm telling you, the whale killed Nack and you're wasting your time," Louise rebuked him rather harshly.

"You know, you're really jumping to judgment for someone who's supposed to care for the animals," Natalie told her off sternly.

"Look, don't tell me how to do my job, you ...!"

"Your job!? Who just made you king, Louise!?" Bonnie jumped into the fray, "So far here I haven't seen you do ONE beneficial thing here yet!!"

Louise repsonded by calling Bonnie something so awful that she lunged towards her with her fists raised. Disher jumped in between them and held her back. "Ladies, ladies, no fighting!" he told them firmly, "Why don't we go outside and take nice, deep breaths."

"Hey, I was just going to leave anyway," Louise told him coolly. She told the lieutenant over her shoulder, "By the way, genius, what's your theory; that a bunch of ice cream creatures from Saturn killed him?"

Disher sputtered in indignation. "Can she get away with that?" he asked Stottlemeyer.

"Much as I would love to say no, Randy, without intent of malice, I'm afraid she does," the captain shook his head, "But if she's the guilty party, I wouldn't be upset at all."

"Oh it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was her," Bonnie shook her head in disgust, "Complete arrogant jerk. She waltzed in her a few weeks ago after the other trainer quit. She doesn't care at all about the animals here; just stands around and smokes all day, occasionally rifling through desks that aren't hers. I always did have the feeling she had some ulterior motive to be here."

"What do you think, Monk?" the captain asked his go-to man, who was rearranging items inside a desk drawer himself. "Oh yes, there's something very suspicious about her indeed," the detective said without looking up, "She knows more than she's letting on. I think we have an initial lead."

* * *

"I need your help on a project, Mr. Monk," Julie inquired of him at hte dinner table later that evening, "I'm doing a history piece on the Nome Mercy Run, and if you would happen to know all the drivers..." 

"'Wild Bill' Shannon, Edgar Kallans, Dan Green, Johnny Folger, Sam Joseph, Titus Nikolai, Dave Corning, Harry Pitka, Bill McCarty, Edgar Nollner, George Nollner, Charlie Evans, Tommy Patsy, Jackscrew, Victor Anagick, Myles Gonanghan, Henry Ivanoff, Leonhard Seppala, Charlie Olson, Gunnar Kassen," Adrian ticked off all the participants' names while seperating the carrots, steak, and potatoes on his plate, "Ed Rohn was going to be the last driver, but because the storm on the last day of the relay was so severe that Nome officials ordered the run stopped till it blew over, he went to sleep at the checkpoint, and Kassen decided the people needed the serum desperately and pushed ahead to town."

"Hey, what did I say about cheating with your homework?" Natalie stuck her head in the doorway.

"It's not cheating," her daughter protested, "If I asked his brother, THAT would be cheating."

She leaned back as Adrian reached over to seperate her food as well. "So, Mom says you made friends with a whale," she asked him, "I always liked whales a lot."

"Really?" Adrian frowned, "I thought the eagle was your favorite animal since it reminds you of your father's free flying spirit?"

"It is, but whales are a close second," she admitted, "If you could get me in to see it up close, I'd like it."

"Uh, I don't know about that," Adrian frowned, "We, we do have your health and safety to think about; no telling where mutant viruses can be transmitted..."

"He'd be glad to take you there," Natalie interrupted him, "In fact, I've checked with the staff there, and there's an opening for a new janitor in the whale area, so while he looks around for clues on the case, you..."

"Hold on a second," Adrian interrupted himself, "You never brought that up. Sanitation work around animals is something that should be reserved for the worst offenders in society. If I didn't know any better, I'd think..."

His brow furled. "Wait a minute, wait just one minute," he raised an eyebrow, "I get what your game is here. It's the old Let's Force Monk to Do Something He Doesn't Want to in the Name of Taking a Chance Trick. Well, it's not going to work this time, because I will not do it no matter what you say or do."

"Well Mr. Monk, it's going to be the best way to get behind the scenes and figure out exactly what that Louise is up to," Natalie goaded him, "You know Riptide's innocent; this is how we're going to prove it."

"It's innocent, yes, but that doesn't mean I want to get up close and personal with it," her boss countered, "Now Dr. Kroger told me during our last session that I might want to consider being more assertive with things. So the answer is no, N-O, you can't make me go that far undercover, no."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm going to get your mother one of these days," Adrian grumbled to Julie as he led her through the aquarium's atrium, "I don't know how, but I'm going to get her."

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath; the large steamer trunk of cleaning utensils he'd brought was quite heavy. "Dentist appointment my foot!" he continued grousing, "She came up with that on the spot to leave me alone here and prove her dumb theory on taking chances! First thing I do when we're done here is dig up her Grandpa Neville's corpse and shoot it ten times in the head!"

"Well I think you might get to like this whale a lot if you'll give it some time, especially since it seems to like you," Julie reassured him.

Adrian mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "Conspirators." They reached the whale tank, where a loud exhale from Riptide revealed the orca to be circling around the far end, still looking listless. "Really, though, I can't blame him for being upset, though," the detective admitted, "This amphitheater seat 2,357 people; you think the architects would have taken the time to add three more to make it rounded off. He probably agonizes about it day and...what are you doing!?"

"Come on," Julie was dragging him by the arm over to where Riptide was swimming, "You'll like him, trust me. Come on," she flicked at the water to get the whale's attention, "Come on over here."

"Don't, please don't do that, no telling what they've put in this water!" Adrian protested, "Remember, I'm not responsible if you come down with anything."

Julie ignored him and reached out to pet the now close Riptide. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you," she told it. Riptide obligingly rolled sideways onto his stomach. Ugly red marks were visible underneath. "He was leaping straight up at the poachers, trying to scare them away," Adrian theorized, staring at the scars, "They got him in midair, but he was coming sideways so they weren't able to get a clear stab at him. Otherwise he would have been killed too."

"Come on, you pet him too," Julie seized his hand and pulled it towards the whale's exposed underside.

"No, please, don't, I beg you, anything but...!" Adrian abruptly trailed off as his fingers touched the blubber. It didn't really feel as bad as he'd thought. "Well, then again, maybe I'll at least have twenty-four more hours to live after this," he said quickly, his hand relaxing after having tensed up.

"Oh I hope it'll be a lot longer than that," Bonnie had appeared behind them. "Hello there, you must be Julie," she greeted the girl warmly, "Your mother told me all about you. I always enjoy showing off the whales to children."

"I guess that's because you suffer from hereditary syphilis and can't have children of your own," Adrian commented. Seeing the embarrassed expression on her face, he quickly added, "Well, I just happened to notice your medication when we were back...actually, forget I said anything. Well, I'd better get to work; I got forced into agreeing to clean the whole building now; might as well start now so I might be done before I turn sixty."

He started walking towards his trunk, but stopped when he heard Riptide exhale behind him again. "What is with you?" he asked, but his voice was now full of amazement to notice the whale following him, "Are you really that interested in me?"

Riptide stuck his head onto the concrete of the trainer's walkway and opened his mouth wide. "What, do you want me to feed you?" the detective frowned, "Sorry, but I don't really think you'd like what I brought with me."

"We've got fish for him right here," Bonnie reached into a nearby bucket and extracted one. "Here you go, let him have it," she extended the fish towards Adrian.

"Uh, give, give me a moment here," Adrian had no intention of handling an actual fish. He dug through his trunk until he found his handy mechanical claw and took hold of the fish with that. "Uh, go, go fetch, boy," he announced to Riptide, tossing the fish across the tank with the claw. The orca swam off to retrieve it, then swam right back to the edge of the tank and deposited it at the detective's feet. "I think he wants you to give it to him yourself, Mr. Monk," Julie told him.

Adrian whimpered loudly. "Will nothing about this go smoothly!?" he mumbled under his breath. He picked up the fish with the claw nonetheless. "If, if I give this to you, please don't bite down on it," he told Riptide, "I've only got fifty spares left."

He hesitantly lowered the fish into the whale's mouth. Riptide swallowed it in seconds and opened up again, begging for more. Adrian sighed and gestured for more fish. "Promise you'll eat a nice, even amount?" he asked the whale, "It's common courtesy to eat even numbers."

"Well, while these two are bonding, would you like to see where we keep his food in the meantime?" Bonnie asked Julie.

"I'd like that a lot," the girl nodded, "Good luck with him, Mr. Monk."

Adrian sighed as the two of them walked off. "Just like her mother, leaving me in the lurch for the sake of change," he confided in Riptide, "I don't like change very much, as I'm sure you don't either at this point. It, it probably is hard, going from open ocean to a clautrophobic tank that isn't even perfectly round. And to be completely alone half the time. It's really hard being alone, isn't it?"

Much to his surprise, Riptide made a slow gesture that looked very much like a nod. "So you do understand what I'm saying?" the detective was admittedly intrigued, "Maybe we do have more in common than I realized at first. Do you like me coming here?"

The whale nodded again. "Interesting," Adrian remarked, "Most people run away from me once they get to know me. Tell you what, since I'm going to be here till we find out who killed Bob Nack, how would you like it if I made this as clean a tank and amphitheater as possible for you?"

Riptide made a large backwards splash that Adrian interpreted as an emphatic yes. "Well then, since I'd like to help you, maybe you can end up helping me, too," he told it, no longer feeling afraid of the whale, "Let me tell you as story that's almost as sad as yours, if not more so. I don't know if you know anything about it, but any help would be greatly appreciated. But anyway, there was the sweetest and most beautiful woman you can possibly imagine..."


	5. Chapter 5

"...yep, we're on stakeout now," Disher was telling his former girlfriend, "Big case; they think a whale did it, Monk's convinced..."

"Randy, stakeout means no chattering on the phone, even if Cathy's three hours out from the airport," Stottlemeyer told him firmly much as any parent facing a child who used the phone too much would, "In fact, here comes Louise Bentley now," he pointed at the suspected trainer walking towards the aquarium's rear entrance, "So why do you put your toys away so we can get cracking here?"

"Gotta go; know I love you though; see you at the airport," Disher told Cathy very quickly. He and Stottlemeyer hustled over to where Louise was now standing and watching them in both shock and disdain. "Don't you two have anything better to do with your lives than harrass me?" she asked them harshly.

"Well, good to see you remember us, Mrs. Bentley," the captain greeted her, "We'd like to ask you a few more questions, given that we didn't get the chance..."

"I'm sorry gentlemen, but I don't have time for you today, or any other time," Louise shrugged them off and reached for the door. Disher stepped into her path. "We checked records, Louise," he informed her, "You applied for your job here just after Riptide the whale was brought in. Don't you think that's a little much of a coincidence?"

"As a matter of fact it is," she told him with a smarmy attitude, "You guys read far too much into these things."

"It's also worth mentioning," Stottlemeyer spoke up, "That we found that the trainer you replaced, one Rachel Albertson, has been reported missing since that time. And that you have a record for theft. And that you never took a single class in marine biology during your single semester at Dominguez Hills. So is there something you would like us to know, because if you tell us now..."

"I know my Fifth Amendment rights," Louise told him curtly, "And I'm exercising them from here on. Now if you'll excuse me please."

She stormed inside before they could continue the questioning. "Guilty," both cops mumbled at the same time. Their attention was diverted by the honking of what they affectionately referred to as the "Teegermobile" pulling into the nearest parking space. "Ah, good, you made it, Natalie," the captain greeted her, "Where's Monk?"

"Oh, he's already here, didn't I tell you?" Natalie announced, unable to keep from smiling, "He's undercover with Riptide."

"The whale?" Stottlemeyer frowned, "What did you talk Monk into against his will this time, Natalie?"

* * *

"...four pounds of C4 under the driver's seat, detonated by cell phone," Adrian was glumly relating to Riptide, "She did survive long enough to make it the hospital, at least long enough...for me to...say goodbye..." 

He put his hands over his face and sniffed. "I guess I understand how you feel, losing your wife much the same way," he told the whale once he'd recomposed himself, "You, you would happen to know anything at all about it, for Trudy's sake? Any clues?"

Riptide made a gesture that was akin to shaking his head. "Well, just, just thought I'd ask," Adrian shook his own head. He leaned closer and asked Riptide, "Actually, there's something else I should probably ask; might make someone else I know feel a whole lot better. You wouldn't have happened when you were swimming through the bay to have noticed the remains of...?"

"Monk," Stottlemeyer called out as he and the others made their way down the concrete steps to the edge of the tank.

"Riptide, a good friend of mine, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer," Adrian gestured towards his boss for Riptide's benefit, "You know, I had the most interesting dream about him the other night; the other cops were going on strike, and the mayor put me in their places. The captain was ready to kill me for it. Very strange, like I was watching myself in some parallel reality."

"Parallel reality? From a guy who's never even in reality in the first place?" Stottlemeyer sarcastically joked.

"Although, you know, captain, the way the city's cutting our pensions again, strike might not be a bad option sometime down the road," Disher said, leaning down to pet Riptide along his dorsal fin, "So, have you found anything, Monk?"

"No clues here other than what I dredged up the other day," Adrian shook his head, "I'll be here for a while too; I'm, I'm the new janitor."

"Janitor?" Stottlemeyer burst into a loud hail of laughter, "I'll be damned, Adrian Monk, undercover as a janitor?"

"That's, that's me," Adrian frowned, "What's, what's so amusing about that?"

Both Disher and Stottlemeyer were laughing harder than the detective had seen in weeks. They staggered towards the door, pushing by a very confused Natalie. "What's with them?" she called to her employee as she slid down the rows towards him.

"I haven't the slightest idea in the world," Adrian looked right at Riptide, "I guess you don't either, right?"

"So, the whale's not the mutant virus-toting terror of the deep after all, is it Mr. Monk?" she asked him with the cool edge of someone knowing they'd won an argument.

"I didn't say it wasn't," Adrian made a point to take two large steps away from the edge of the tank.

"Don't tell me you've given up on Riptide, Mr. Monk," Bonnie had also appeared now as well with a bucket of decidedly stale fish. Adrian turned his head aside in disdain. "Uh, no, I'm, just...Why I don't want to get too close to him and get hurt when he has to leave when his wounds heal--optimists, they should know some wounds never heal, as I'm sure the three of us can all attest to."

Natalie stared at Bonnie in wonder. "Terminal syphyllis," the trainer admitted, lowering her head, "They're divided over whether I've got several years or a couple of months. I really don't know which would be better; sometimes I'm so weak when I get up in the morning I can't..."

But Natalie was no longer listening. "Mr. Monk, you just admitted that you do care for Riptide," she told him, very impressed.

"No I didn't," he mumbled hastily.

"Oh yes you did, you said you didn't want to hurt his feelings," she pointed out, "See, that tantrum you threw over the dangers of trying new things last night was moot from the start."

"I didn't say we were friends," he said assertively, remembering that Dr. Kroger had asked him to try doing so more. "And for your information, Natalie, I'm not getting close with it. I can't...even if it were..."

He stumbled for the right words. "You're afraid things won't work out, and you'll be left crying all over," Bonnie found them for him.

"Exactly, the detective nodded, "I've had enough hurt in my life; I don't really want to go through any more."

"But who's to say the worst WILL happen?" the whale trainer helpfully pointed out to him, "If you don't mind a little criticism, Mr. Monk..."

"Oh no, please go ahead," he waved her on, "I get it all the time from everyone, as you'd probably guessed if you are watching the show."

"Anyway, I think, seeing this and what I see the guy on TV doing you do, that you look too much on the bad side, Mr. Monk. If you keep doing that, life be quite so bad. That's what I use to get through every day, trying to live it the best I can in case it's the last..."

She trailed off uncomfortably, but recovered with. "Riptide wants to be your friend, Mr. Monk. Returning that friendship might well be the greatest gift he could ever hope to get; he hasn't got too much to look forward to here after the lights go out and I go home for the night. And it's be good for you too, since you'll feel good too knowing you've help make someone's life a little better."

"I couldn't have put it any better myself," Natalie nodded with a smile, "Think that over really hard, Mr. Monk, it's good advice."

"Good because you said it and forced me into the situation in the first place?" he argued, but he did see the women's points quite well indeed. Sometimes he felt crushing spells of loneliness for a couple of days, made ever worse now that Trudy was no longer around to comfort him on it. He turned back to the tank and an anxiously staring Riptide. "We'll leave you two talk things out," Natalie patted him on the shoulder, "We're going to see where Julie ran off to this time; hope it's not backstage with the sharks..."

"Oh you don't have to worry there, Mrs. Teeger, no child has access to the keys to that area," Bonnie reassured her as the women walked away. Adrian shrugged and turned back to the whale. "Staing at people seems to be one of your specialties," he half-chided it, "Well, how would you like me to do you a huge favor?"

Riptide made another huge lunging motion that signaled a yes. "Well then," Adrian walked over to his trunk and opened in, "I have with me enough items that will make your pool here the cleanest one in not just this aquarium but the entire world. You will be able to say that Adrian Monk made your stay here so much better for you. Just, just no splashing Monk while he's going about his business doing it, though. Deal?...friend?"

He heistantly extended his arm to the orca. Riptide extended his tongue in return. Adrian sighed. "Once clown, always a clown," he mumbled, "But I guess then a deal it is."

He grabbed his claw and used it to rub Riptide's tongue, making a mental note to bring ten spares with him the next time. "All right then," he exclaimed, producing coveralls, a mop, and ten bottles of ammonia and soap, "Just sit back, relax, and watch me show you how a real tank-cleaning service is supposed to go."


	6. Chapter 6

"Almost there," Adrian told Riptide, guiding the pool vacuum along the edge of the tank, "Sorry, sorry I almost winged your tail there earlier, but I missed that dirt in that spot."

Riptide exhaled loudly as he swam by. Adrian waved at him. It was now close to midnight, but the detective was not at all tired. In fact, he'd been so energized by it that he'd asked Natalie to leave him there overnight; a "sleepover," he'd referred to it as. Cleaning the exhibit out had given him a feeling of accomplishment. He'd first carefully picked up every piece of litter from earlier in the day lying under the seats. Then he had carefully scrubbed down the each and every inch of the benches with his ammonia; the next time he was in, he was going to bring the sandblaster so he could smooth out the stone surfaces. Then he had cleaned the large windows in the wall (he'd tackled the problem of their height by spraying the window cleaner on the rags he'd brought and attached them to increasingly longer poles so that he could scrub away from the security of the ground). For the last three hours, he'd been running the pool vacuum around the tank, a difficult task considering that no matter how often he went around the tank, new patches of dirt seemed to keep popping up out of seemingly thin air. Finally, though, he was getting close to completion and a pristine tank.

"So anyway," the detective continued the conversation it had been having with the whale, "I wake up on the rooftops, and they tell me Hinkley got a red super suit from aliens. But guess what: that's actually the truth! That suit does work completely, even if Ralph never could get it to fly properly. And in the end, we saved Philadelphia, the president, and the world from complete holocaust. I just hope things aren't that exciting the next. See Dad told us before we left Philadelphia at the end of vacation that he'd enjoy doing it with all of us again, as would all of us, I learned on the plane. "So right now we're trying to work preliminary arrangements for Christmas to decide what sights within..."

It happened in an instant; he'd forgotten where he'd laid the ammonia, and apparently one of the bottles was leaking. His foot came down on a puddle of it and he took a mighty slip. His fingers scraped the edge of the pool wall, and the jolt knocked Trudy's wedding ring off his finger. "Oh no!" he screamed, watching it roll into the pool right by a filter. He scrambled frantically over to the edge of the tank and reached out, but found himself unwilling to actually touch the water even though it was as clean as it had probably ever been. The ring drifted towards the filter, where it would no doubt be lost for good...

But then a dark shape glided in from the side. Riptide opened his mouth and swallowed the ring seconds before it would have disappeared. The whale slid over to Adrian and opened up, revealing the ring inside, saliva-covered but intact. "You...I don't believe it," Adrian murmurred softly. "I, I can't thank...if I'd lost that...stay there a minute."

He retrived his claw from the trunk and ever so gently extracted the ring from Riptide's mouth. He carried it back over to the trunk and placed it in a plastic bag; he would feel naked not wearing it, but after he'd put it through the dishwasher back home, it would be as good as new, he figured. He walked back over to Riptide and smiled at the whale. "I, I owe you something for that," he told it warmly, "Anything you want, Uncle Adrian'll do it for you."

Riptide abruptly let out a loud whistle of distress and backflipped away from the tank. Adrian spun quickly to find Louise standing on the steps behind them, clapping. "Bravo, you two, bravo," she said mockingly, "That'll win best acting at next years' Oscars easy."

"Would you like to explain what you're doing here so late for our benefit, Louise," Adrian inquired, gesturing at Riptide. Louise shook her head in disgust. "I came back for your sake, Monk, to make sure this horrid beast doesn't chomp on you next."

"Oh there is a horrid beast here all right, Louise," Adrian stepped towards her, "But that's unfortunately you, not least of all because A) You murdered Bob Nack, B) You want to see Riptide die for whatever sick reasons your mind comes up with, and C) You were going to kill me just now with that wrench behind your back and frame Riptide for that as well, weren't you."

Louise glowered at him, tossing the wrench aside. "You have no proof, Monk," she told him firmly, I can tell you now you'll never find any proof. How can you explain the bite marks on Nack's body? You can't can you? So don't press it unless you want this little argument to continue in court when you can't win. A parting word of advice: stay as far away from that whale as possible if you value your life. It's a ticking clock, and it'll slash you into ribbons without a second thought. Good night."

She turned and stormed away. Adrian breathed in relief; he knew she'd be smart enough to not try the same ploy again the same night. "She didn't scare you, did she?" he asked Riptide once the whale had reapproached him, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let the evil woman get you. Why she's so bent on proving you guilty? Well, if you've got anything to say, please tell me now."

Riptides shook his head. Adrian shrugged. "Well, I've got the rest of the building to take care of by daylight," he informed the orca, rummaging through his steamer trunk for more cleaning items, "But I'll be back, don't you worry."

Riptide raised intself straight up and wailed. "Back, back very, very, very soon," Adrian ammended his assessment, "And Natalie complains I'm terrible at being left alone."

* * *

Fatigue was finally overtaking Adrian's system as he swooped his mop in circles over his head, trying to clean out the entire walk-through shark tunnel in one take. He laughed as he made it to the far side and did a strange jig in delight. "Thought I'd never be done there," he exclaimed, kneeling down to pop at several soap bubble on the floor that were largest than the other bubbles. "Better get the trash on this end first." 

He began donning his radiation suit again; no need to take chances with garbage. Lifting up the nearest can, he unscrewed the lid and carried it together his rack of sealable bags. Unfortunately, he tripped and fell for the second time that evening, spilling the trash everywhere. "Great, just great!" he muttered, "Now we're going have to demolish the whole wing for...!"

He stopped as he noticed something out of the ordinary among the usual pieces of aquarium trash. Sifting through the wreckage with his gloved fingers, he held up a shark's tooth--a shark's tooth that had bloodstains on it. But that wasn't all. He could now also smell something from outside the emergency exit door nearby. Rising, the detective cautiously opened the door in case Louise was waiting outside for him and glanced downwards. The stairs were bleached white. The police had never checked there earlier in the investigation. Adrian smiled; the clues were starting to come together. Even though it was three in the morning by now, it was time to call the captain in and bring him up to speed.


	7. Chapter 7

Stottlemeyer rapped on the aquarium door twenty minutes later. "You do realize how early it is, Monk, for..." he started to say, but immediately slipped and fell on the waxed floor. "Oh, should, should have told you, I did it twice over to be sure," the detective said, helping him up, "I also cleaned down the ceiling and walls."

"Sure, that makes a ton of sense," the captain grumbled, dusting himself off, "Not to me, but I'm sure it does. So what have you got?"

Adrian showed him the evidence he'd found (he'd already double-bagged it). "You don't suppose a shark got into the tank?" he inquired, "Now that I think of it, the marks on Nack's body look more like shark wounds than whale wounds."

"Well unfortunately, this isn't going to convict, Monk," Stottlemeyer shook his head, "And it'll be Bentley's word against yours that she threatened you."

"Well it certainly wasn't my buddy," Adrian blurted out. Stottlemeyer stared at him in surprise. "Did you just call the whale a friend?" he asked.

"And there's a problem with that?" Adrian said defensively, "They're all right, I don't have friends, I like Riptide..."

"Look, Monk, all I'm saying is just be careful," the captain told him slowly, "If it turns out you're wrong and the whale did do it...I don't want to see you hurt like..."

He bowed his head in a mix of frustration and shame. "Linda," the detective realized, "You were wide awake thinking about the whole thing when I called, weren't you; you haven't taken your clothes off all night. That, that was entirely different, Captain, you were being strung along the whole time, Riptide would..."

"How do you know I was being used, Monk?" it was Stottlemeyer's turn to get defensive, "She's certainly not going to say that to my face. Maybe it was for real, then she decided later that she'd...I don't know, I may never know. I just don't want the same thing to happen to you, Monk, so don't jump the gun just because the whale seems to like you. I know Natalie tells you to go for things, but as I can tell you now, it's not always..."

There was a loud beeping. "Oh, the paint's dried," Adrian commented, glancing at his watch, "I, I decided to paint the walls across from the octopi, they were getting thin. Got to move on to the next section."

Stottlemeyer simply shook his head. "Well, I'm going to get back to sleep," he told his colleague, "Call me again in the morning if you find anything else that might convict. And think about what I said, too."

* * *

"'...Rushing like a train, wild and free, forever charging towards the sea," Adrian was reading one of his wife's poems to Riptide several hours later as daylight flooded into the tank area, "I often wonder how you manage to flow, through wind and rain and falling snow. Tell me your secrets, what do you see? And what can you tell me about me?' She wrote that one around our fourth anniversary. I rank it about thirteenth best among all her poems. Want to hear another one?" 

Riptide made a strong nodding gesture. Adrian pulled another poem out of his tuxedo pocket; he always carried about three or four of Trudy's works with him so he'd always have her along with him. "This one was written when she took a trip to the Sierra Nevada just before we were engaged. 'How small I am, amongst your peaks, which rose so long ago. We all aspire to reach you, but only those who try get there. How I'd love to jump up high, and touch your crowns, then oh so slowly drift on down. Tell me, how can I?'"

There came an unexpected applause from behind him, causing him to jump slightly. "It was wonderful," Bonnie had arrived for the morning, "You know, you should have them published."

"That, that would mean I'd have to give up her original copies," Adrian shook his head hard, "Never, for nothing."

The trainer seemed to understand. "And did you enjoy having company last night?" she asked Riptide, rubbing him near the snout.

"We did, but, but there was a little trouble," Adrian said. He related his encounter with Louise to her. "I should have known," Bonnie grumbled, "I just knew she was trouble the moment she walked in. I don't think I told you this, but I think she broke our X-ray machine for whatever reason. We have to give every animal we release a physical before it goes back into the ocean, so Riptide's stuck here until it's fixed even if he's perfectly healthy."

"I'm, I'm starting to suspect she may have killed her predecessor to get this job to frame Riptide, too," he added at the end, "Was her departure suspicious in any way?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, Rachel's leaving was a little strange," Bonnie admitted, "I overheard Mr. Nack talking to the curator just after it happened; he said she'd called him to say she was quitting to go do reasearch in Mexico. But she wasn't making any plans to go before the call, and she doesn't know anyone down there. I always liked Rachel; if I'd known something was wrong then..."

A loud exhale from Riptide caught her attention. "I know, it's time for breakfast," she turned to him, "Say, Mr. Monk, want to help me pick out the fish to give him?"

"Um,..." Adrian glanced at his watch, then at the orca, "Well, maybe I can squeeze in a few minutes. Got, got to get ready, though; I'll meet you in the back once I am."

He trudged off to the bathroom, where he slipped into another pair of radiation suits and gas masks. It proved a little hard to walk with this much on, but better safe then sorry around potentially toxic fish, he figured. Walking back to the tank area, he took a role of police tape and a box of plastic bags. Once inside the back room, he strung the tape across the door. "There, now I'm ready," he told Bonnie, who was standing by several crates of fish.

"Huh?" she frowned, having clearly not understood a word he said under the gas masks.

"I said I'm ready," he repeated.

"I'm sorry, I still can't understand you," she shook her head. Adrian sighed, lifted up the hoods of both suits, and took off one of the gas masks. "How's this?" he inquired.

"That's better," Bonnie shrugged, "Now here's what we do," she led him to the crates, "We want nice, whole fish for him."

"Oh absolutely, my buddy deserves nothing but the best," Adrian nodded. He dug out his claw. "Gash on the gills from a faulty net, no good," he proclaimed from the first fish he picked up. He lowered it into a bag and dropped it in the trash can nearby. Then he reached for another fish with the the claw. "Deformed eye, nope," he proclaimed upon seeing the next one, "Tail's not symmetrical...he's missing a tooth...this one's scales are too long near the pectoral fins..."

"Well Riptide's got to have SOME food, Mr. Monk," Bonnie pointed out to him.

"I know, but this is the problem with fishing; they never bother to catch the right fish," Adrian shrugged. Soon the trash can was overflowing with fish he'd rejected, while not a single one had met his specifications. "Tell, tell me, could a shark have gotten into Riptide's tank without noticing?" he inquired as he bagged and threw away one who had an odd number of gills on the left side, "I might have found evidence to that extent last night."

"Hmm," Bonnie thought it over, "Well, it is a bit of a stretch; Riptide never has contact with any of the sharks we have here. Plus, there's the matter of keeping the shark alive while it's being transported; if it stops moving, it dies. So you think Louise might have dragged one in to frame Riptide?"

"It's entirely possible," Adrian bagged and discarded yet another fish, "It would have to have been a tiger or great white; they're the only ones whose bite marks would be close."

"Well we don't have any of those here," the trainer shook her head, "Two great hammerheads are the biggest we've got."

"No good then," Adrian shook his own head, "But those are definitely the bites of a large shark on Nack's body, I know now."

He reached for another crate, and soon the fish were piling up in the trash can again. "So, what do you think, seeing yourself on national television?" Bonnie asked him.

"It's, it's an interesting experience," Adrian related his feelings, "Like I said, I like how the guy does me; he just seems to hit every mark right."

"Do they ever ask you for script advice?" she was quite interested.

"Every now and then," the detective admitted, "They, they know what they're doing, though, so I have reason to trust them. For the moment."

As the bag in the trash can was almost full, he tied it shut and carried it out back and tossed it into the dumpster. "The best part, though," he continued when he came back, "I go over my brother's to watch it with him, and once it's over, my father calls from wherever he is--I just met him again last Christmas, he's a truck driver now--and tells me what he likes best about it. It's good to know he..."

He stopped abruptly and stared at the fish that was now in his claw. He started making some gestures and twisted his neck around. "Get, get the captain on the phone," he instructed Bonnie, "I, I might just have something here."


	8. Chapter 8

"Level five," Disher mumbled excitedly, pressing the button on his handheld Tetris console as Stottlemeyer's car pulled up in front of the main office of Applegate Seafood, "I always wanted to reach..."

"Randy, I really don't care," his superior grumbled, "Playtime will come after we finish interrogation."

The two of them weaved through knots of fisherman and fish packers going about their business and entered the building. "Police, Captain Stottlemeyer," he said, flashing his badge to the secretary on duty, "We asked to see Mr. Applegate."

"One moment PLEEEEEASSEE," the rather rotund secretary drawled. "Mr. AAAAApplegate, the authorities are here to SEEEEEE you," she mumbled into the intercom.

"Uh, tell them I'm busy at the moment," came the voice from the other end.

"Oh I think you're done whatever you're doing," Stottlemeyer leaned towards the box, "This is quite important, Larry."

Applegate sighed deeply. "All right Marge, let them in," he reluctantly informed the secretary. "Oh, it's you guys, the celebrities," he mildly exclaimed when the two law enforcement officials entered, "I must have done something really terrible if Captain Hardcase and Lieutenant Foolish come by. I hope this is important, gentlemen, because I do happen to run the largest fishing company in this city and have a living to make."

"Mr. Applegate, you don't supply fish for the Aquarium of the Bay, do you?" Disher inquired, his eyes still fixed on the console in his hand.

"No, I don't," Appelgate said, "One of my competitors unfortunately got that contract. Why?"

"Adrian Monk identified several boxes of fish that he's 98 percent certain come from your trawlers," Stottlemeyer informed him, "And that there were certain poisons in them."

"So what? I've read all about him in the papers; as far as he's concerned every single fish on this planet is poisoned," Applegate said dismissively, "And you should know I always have every fish we catch processed and cleaned before they hit the market, so there's no reason he should have any beef with me in the first place."

"Monk has a feeling whoever sent those fish to the aquarium had designs to kill the whale there," the captain continued, but was cut off by a loud beeping. "Two rows at once, excellent!" Disher exclaimed, pressing the buttons faster and faster. In a flash Stottlemeyer grabbed the game and tossed it out the nearby open window. "You're not getting any allowance this week," he told his adjutant sternly.

"I don't fish for whales," Applegate said firmly, "You should note, captain, that all my ships comply with federal regulations for the exclusion of marine mammals that might come near the nets. I can show you myself."

"How about sharks?" Monk has a feeling a shark might have murdered his keeper now."

"We take care to make sure we don't catch sharks as well, captain. Those bloodsuckers at the EPA harrass me all the time about it; I sincerely hope local people aren't going to do the same."

"Have you seen this woman, then?" Stottlemeyer removed a photograph of Rachel Albertson from his pocket, "She's been missing for some time, and we have some reason to suspect she may have been murdered."

"I've never seen her before in my life," the fishing magnate shook his head emphatically, "Is this some habit with you guys, always assuming the guy with money is the one who's guilty of everything?"

"Mr. Applegate, this is serious," Disher said, still looking depressed at losing his game, "We have a strong feeling that something fishy might be going on here."

"This is a seafood processing plant; of course it's fishy!" Applegate mumbled impatiently.

"Uh...right," the lieutenant said quickly, "One last question, you wouldn't happen to know a Louise Bentley?"

"Read my lips: N-O," Applegate told him very slowly, "Now if you two don't mind, I have a lot of business to attend to today. If you have anything else to say, you'll have to reschedule at another date."

"Uh, do we have anything else to ask?" Disher asked his superior, who shook his head. "Not without a search warrant," he admitted, "But rest assured, Larry, we will get to the bottom of this, and I sure hope you're not involved for your sake."

"Me too. I do like the taste some of your products..." Disher started to say.

"Let's go, my wayward son," Stottlemeyer sighed, leading his adjutant back out to the reception area. The moment they were gone, Applegate hastily dialed his phone. "Baby, it's me," he stated, "Listen, they're starting to catch on to a few things. You've got to do something real quick."

* * *

"Now if we're going to do this," Adrian was telling an interested Riptide, "We're going to have to lay out a few dictums. First, I'll have to ask that you not jump at all. Secondly, try and stay above the water level. Thrid, please go as slow as...ah, here's Natalie. Isn't it a great morning?" 

Natalie, however, was looking far less pleased than he was. "Mr. Monk, your last check bounced again!" she demanded, holding it up in his face, "That's the third time over the last four months! I've told you, I can't live on nothing!"

"I don't control the banks," Adrian said defensively.

"I have bills; electric, water, sewage!" she continued ranting, probably inserting the last one on purpose because of the pained expression on his face at the mention of sewage, "It may mean nothing to you, but I have to provide for my daughter whether you appreciate it or not."

"Money, money, always money," Adrian asided to Riptide, "Be glad you don't have an assistant, or this might end up happening to you someday."

"Don't listen to him," Natalie strode over to Riptide herself and looked the whale right in the eye, "Tell him, he's got no right to keep funds to himself when...where do you think you're going now, Mr. Monk? I'm not finished yet!"

"I was going to do something I've never done before today with Riptide's assistance," Adrian was donning a crash helmet and shoulder pads, "So by your logic I should have done it a long time ago. I doubt you'll ever complain about me not taking chances again once you see this."

He added oxygen tanks--regular and backups--to his paraphernalia, then pulled out from behind the door a large chair with straps and reins. Natalie's expression quickly went from irked to interested. "You're actually going to try that?" she asked, amazed, "I...I didn't know you had it in you, Mr. Monk."

"Believe me, neither did I," Adrian admitted. He walked over to where Riptide was floating. "Hold, hold nice and still for me, buddy," he told his new friend. Within minutes the detective had his mount "saddled." He hesitantly stepped on board and strapped himself in. "OK, nice and slow, take me once around, and make sure you stay close to the edge," he told his friend. Riptide exhaled in agreement and slowly moved back into the tank. Adrian's nerves were on edge; any sudden move could be detrimental. But at the same time, he felt relaxed. He trusted Riptide wouldn't cause him any harm. He knew the whale well enough. And, for some strange reason, he found himself exhilerated at the prospect of flying, which was what his sojourn was feeling like. It felt good. Almost too good. And he liked it.

"OK, a guess you can go a little faster," he told his friend. Laughter escaped his throat. He even dared to take one hand off the reins and wave at Natalie as he passed by her again. "I'm king of the world!" he called out excitedly, prompting her to laugh in delight as well. "You're doing great, pal, you're doing great!" he told Riptide, patting him near the blowhole, "A little faster--but no rocking!" he protested as the whale tilted slightly to the side, "Nice and even, that's, that's wonderful."

He felt liberated. More liberated than he'd felt at any point since Trudy had still be alive. So much so he didn't care that a little water lapped against his shoes. He had to have made at least ten laps around the tank before Riptide finally eased to a stop back where they'd begun; he'd been too excited to keep track. Natalie greeted him with a big hug once he stepped off. "That was wonderful, Mr. Monk," she told him in delight.

"So you're willing to forget all your qualms about the money?" he asked, hoping the moment was an opportune one to push the point.

"Absolutely not," her expression turned sour again, "I demand I get paid in full immediately, or else you'll..."

She was cut off by more clapping from the wings. "That was fabulous," Bonnie commended the detective, "I haven't seen Riptide this happy since he was brought in."

"Say, Bonnie, how much would a trainer make each hour?" Natalie abruptly inquired, a look on her face that Adrian didn't like.

"Oh, I guess it goes for about fifty dollars a day or so," Bonnie shrugged.

"He'll do every show for the rest of the week," Natalie told her, "At maximum price."

"Every show!?" Adrian complained, "Natalie, I couldn't possibly survive in front of a large, odd-numbered crowd for...!"

"You were clearly having fun with it a minute ago; surely doing it a couple more times regardless of who's here isn't too impossible," his assistant argued, "And Riptide wants you to do it, don't you Riptide?"

She made a gesture with her hand towards the whale that Adrian clearly knew was to entice it to agree with her. Bonnie cleared her throat slowly. "Um, I hate to break it to the both of you, but actually, we're letting Riptide back into the wild tomorrow night."

"WHAT!!??" both Adrian and Natalie spun around and stared at her increduously. "He's passed every physical," the trainer explained, "even without the X-ray machine working. We can't keep him longer than we have to."

"But...but...but..." Adrian felt like someone had hit him hard in the stomach, "...he's...my best friend! I can't lose him! Not now!"

"Mr. Monk, we couldn't keep him here forever," Bonnie put a sympathetic arm around him. He could tell looking into her eyes that she felt somewhat torn about it as much as he was. "He belongs out there in the ocean with his family, Mr. Monk. But as long as you care for him, he'll never really have left. And you're more than invited to help tomorrow for his going-away party the aquarium's going to hold."

"He'll do his stunt for a hundred dollars a performance," Natalie stated quickly.

"Natalie," Adrian held up a hand to her, "It's really Riptide's choice." He leaned down towards his friend and mumbled in a barely audible voice, "Would...you like to do this...one more time before...before...before we'll never see each other again and go back to being lonely and miserable?"

He sniffed loudly and had to fight hard to keep the tears at bay. Riptide admittedly looked somber himself. But the whale made a nodding gesture and extended his tongue for Adrian to rub. "All right then," the detective nodded, daring to rub the tongue with his bare hand (and ignoring Natalie's cry of delight at the prospect of more money coming in), "Tomorrow, buddy, you're, you're going to go out a star."


	9. Chapter 9

"I still can't believe he agreed to do this," Julie informed her mother as they walked into the aquarium the next day for the farewell show.

"Well, he had a little incentive," Natalie explained, "And we benefit from it too. Captain, so glad you could come."

Stottlemeyer was leaning against the wall near the whale tank with his hands in his coat pockets. "I should tell you, Natalie, I don't think this is a really good idea," he told her, gesturing at the sign set up by the door proclaiming A FAREWELL FOR RIPTIDE, FEATURING ADRIAN MONK, "This is something bad waiting to happen."

"You're a little too worried, Captain," she reassured him, "Mr. Monk and Riptide have a great chemistry. This is going to be great."

"Look, I've known Monk a lot longer than you have," Stottlemeyer continued arguing, "I just have a feeling deep down that this isn't right to put him into. If we build him up that he can trust the whale, he'll...God forbid if we're all wrong and the whale is really unstable and something goes horribly wrong with this."

"Now what could possibly go wrong?" she scoffed.

"Mr. Monk might chicken out at the last minute," Julie suggested.

"Oh he's not going to do that," her mother said.

"Oh yes he is; there he goes now," the girl pointed. With his head down, Adrian could be clearly seen sneaking towards the emergency exit behind them. Natalie strode over into his path. "Where are you going, Mr. Monk?" she inquired firmly.

"I, I changed my mind, Natalie; I can't, can't go through with it," Adrian admitted, "Too, too many people in there. To be honest, I'd, I'd rather just have a few minutes alone with Riptide on my own before they ship him out...forever and...what I'm saying is..."

"Mr. Monk, ten minutes," she told him, "That's all you have to do; ten minutes, and we get a hundred dollars."

"So this WAS all about the money, wasn't it?" Adrian's brow furled deeply.

"Mr. Monk, Riptide is looking forward to you doing this," she said sternly, "If you don't go out there, you'll be letting him down. Not to mention all these people who came to see you. And most of all me. Now get. In. There."

She pointed towards the employees' entrance. For the briefest of moments, a look of deepest resentment crossed Adrian's face. It quickly passed, however, and he shuffled off backstage. "You all right there?" Bonnie asked him as he came back in, "You don't look all right."

"Oh it's, it's nothing," Adrian said quickly, walking over to the corner, where his riding paraphernalia was neatly arranged inside a trunk, "How about you? I noticed two bottles of medication in your purse; you were feeling weaker than usual this morning, weren't you?"

"Yes, actually," the trainer admitted, "I think I'm OK now. Are you sure you're able to go ahead with this?"

"Oh, quite sure," Adrian unpacked his items and started putting them on again, "It's, it's going to be a little hard with all these people out there, though."

He gestured through the curtains at the throngs filling up the auditorium. There had to be at least three hundred of them by now. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine," Bonnie reassured him, "Truthfully, I think you're one of the bravest men in the city. Here's your microphone. It's about time we get started."

She handed him a lavaliere and walked towards the curtains. Adrian dug out a wipe and cleaned the microphone down as best he could. After about two minutes--when he was finally satisfied with its cleanliness, he attached it to his collar. Then removed it and put it on again. And again. And again. And again. He was too preoccupied with it to notice that the closet door was slowly opening and a human form was visible behind it. Finally he let it go as he heard Bonnie finish the pre-decided introductory spiel, "..give a hand for San Francisco's biggest hero, Adrian Monk!" With a nervous gulp, he stepped forward through the curtains to loud applause. "Hel-Hello," he softly greeted everyone with a a small wave, "I'm, I'm Adrian Monk, and...and...and..."

"MONK, MONK, MONK, MONK, MONK!!" the crowd was shouting excitedly. Adrian shifted about nervously. "Um...I, I'm going to, uh..." he mumbled slowly, trying to block out the sight of Natalie impatiently waving at him to get on with it from the front row, "Rip, Riptide and I, we've, we've gotten close, and we've worked on doing this...thing together. I, I hope you'll like it."

He picked up his chair from near the wall and carried it to the edge of the tank. "Here, boy," he called to Riptide, who glided over, "Let's get ready to..."

It happened in a split second; Riptide abruptly let out a scream and leaped upwards. "What, what's the...?" Adrian didn't get a chance to finish, as his friend suddenly seized the detective in his jaws and plunged downwards. "What are you doing!?" Adrian screamed, squirming to get loose, "It's me, your friend, Adrian! Stop, please! Help! Anyone, help!"

Riptide thrashed about, shaking the detective wildly about. Adrian sputtered to keep from inhaling water. The pain in his sides from the teeth was terrible. There came the sudden bangs of bullets winging across the surface of the water to the right of them. At this Riptide released Adrian and bolted away. Strong hands grabbed the detective and pulled him out of the water. "Get a medic, quick!" Stottlemeyer could be heard shouting, "Take him in the back!"

Adrian was dragged backstage and laid down on the floor. He glanced up into the face of his worried superior. "You were right, Captain," he mumbled softly, "I got too close to him. I should have known better than to..."

"Oh my God, Mr. Monk, oh my God!" a completely horrified Natalie appeared over Stottlemeyer's shoulder, "I, I didn't think...I...!"

Adrian jerked upwards, a deep rage he'd rarely felt rising within him. "YOU!" he growled at her, "You forced me into this and endangered my life for your own benefit! For your MONEY!!"

"Mr. Monk, I swear that was not my intention!" Natalie pleaded with him, "This whole thing's a big mistake that...!"

"Oh the whole thing was a mistake all right!" Adrian bellowed, "And it began when I was stupid enough to let you talk me into this whole mess with the whale in the first place! Fortunately, however, it's a mistake I won't have to live with. Because starting now, you're fired."

"What are you saying?" she was completely stunned

"You heard what I said!" Adrian thundered, "You're fired, finished, sacked, done, terminated, THROUGH! I'll send you your severence pay as soon as possible. At least then you'll have your precious, valuable money!"

And with that he stood up and stormed (although stumbled would probably have been a more accurate term given his condition) out the door, leaving his associates staring in shock behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

Adrian's hand shook with fury as he emptied a can of drain cleaner down the sink in his bathroom. He'd been cleaning the entire bathroom from top to bottom; it was the only way to constructively handle the rage he was feeling at the moment. Against Stottlemeyer's better judgement, he'd gone straight home and handled his wounds on his own; he didn't trust the hospital with their needles. He still felt a little weak, but was convinced he'd make it through all right.

He felt completely betrayed, both by Natalie and Riptide. He'd put trust behind them, and they'd almost gotten him killed. Indeed, he was now starting to feel like he could no longer trust anyone, given how many people had turned on him over the years as he saw it.

He flung the now empty can towards the garbage can and missed. Muttering under his breath, he all but crushed it when he picked it up and dropped it in. It was at this point that the door to the bathroom swung open. "Mr. Monk, please just..." a desperate looking Natalie asked.

"Do the words 'You're fired' mean anything to you!?" Adrian growled without turning around, "You're trespassing, you know!"

"All right, I know you're upset, but please just hear me out on this," she asked him.

"Not listening," Adrian put both hands over his ears, "Not when your only motivation is cold, hard cash. If you don't leave right now, you might not get any at all."

"You have to believe me, I didn't mean to...I didn't mean everything I said back there," Natalie stammered, "Look, the whole thing had to have been an accident, Mr. Monk; you know Riptide didn't mean to do that to you."

"Well, I was wrong," Adrian muttered, "I misjudged him. Just like I seem to do with just about everyone."

"No you're not wrong!" her voice went way up, "Mr. Monk, they're going to put him down; you have to do something!"

"La la la la la la la," Adrian covered his ears again and started singing loudly to block her out. Frustrated, Natalie pulled his hands away. "Will you just listen to me!!" she shouted.

"NO YOU LISTEN TO ME!!!!!" Adrian rounded on her and exploded, causing her to jump back in shock, "For the first time in your life you're going to listen to every single word have to I say! I have had it with you forcing me into every single thing you want me to do so you can go home each night with a clear conscience about this job! I told you I didn't want to get too close to him, and you tossed it aside because my opinion means absolutely zip to you! You think getting me to take reckless chances makes everything you do for me worth it! Well all it makes you is a petty bully! That's right, you're just a bully! Now kindly remove yourself from my property before I have you booked for trespassing and stalking!"

"Mr. Monk, would you just...!"

"OOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!" he bellowed, jerking his finger towards the door. Natalie lowered her head and trudged away. Adrian thought, as he slammed and locked the front door behind her, that he heard her let out a loud sob. But at the moment, he simply didn't care.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself and sat down on the sofa. "Well, I guess I'll have to hold more auditions now," he told the nearest picture of Trudy, "But if it means I can get someone who respects my feelings more, so be it."

He lay back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. He must have fallen asleep at this point, for when he looked around again night had fallen. Someone was also knocking hard on his door. Growling, he stormed over to it. "If you intend to harrass me to get your job back, let me say...!" he started to yell.

"Adrian, it's me, please let me in," it was his psychiatrist. Adrian glanced through the peephole to make sure Dr. Kroger was alone before he unlocked the door. "Adrian, I heard what happened," Dr. Kroger stated as he came in, "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm, I'm over it already," Adrian said quickly, "No problem at all. I'm fine."

"Well Natalie isn't," Dr. Kroger told him, "She came by my office in tears."

"Well now she knows how I feel," Adrian muttered bitterly, "Did she happen to mention to you she tried to use me for money?"

"As a matter of fact she did," the psychiatrist stated, "Adrian, she feels very guilty about everything. She wants your forgiveness."

"I'm not taking her back," the detective shook his head firmly, "Not if she can't respect my feelings and opinions. She coerces me into everything, and I'm not going to take that kind of mistreatment any more. You told me I had to be more assertive, and so I am."

"Well Adrian, you do realize that being assertive and lashing out are usually not the same thing," Dr. Kroger reminded him, "Now I understand that you would be upset about what's happened, but..."

"Upset? Why would I be upset?" Adrian threw up his hands, "I only thought Riptide was my friend, and he was just playing me the whole time. He was just...I just thought...we had something."

He slumped back on the couch and put his face in his hands. "I really, really wanted to believe we were special," he lamented, "I wanted to believe that somebody could like me unconditionally. I should have known it was too good to be true."

"Well, who's to say it still can't be something special?" Dr. Kroger inquired.

"What does it matter?" Adrian shrugged, "They're going to put him to sleep after this, so it's over anyway. Would have been over in the first place if they'd released him as they'd planned. So it wasn't worth it in the first place."

"But did you enjoy everything you did with Riptide?" his psychiatrist asked him.

"Well, sort of."

"Then I'd certainly say it was worth it to know him," Dr. Kroger plopped down next to him, "Adrian, just because a relationship sours doesn't always make the good parts of it moot. You do get my point, don't you?"

"Well, I guess there might be...a point. Point..." Adrian leaned forward suddenly and made more obtuse gestures. "Oh my God," he exclaimed, "Riptide really didn't mean to do it. It was a deliberate setup to make him look like a monster."

Looking reinvigorated, he leaped to his feet. "We've got to get back to the aquarium, quick," he told Dr. Kroger, "Before they kill him off. Call the captain."

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, slow down a minute, Monk," Stottlemeyer told his main man over Dr. Kroger's cell phone as the psychiatrist drove the detective towards the aquarium as quickly as his passenger would allow, "Run it by me again." 

Larry Applegate runs a whale poaching operation on the side," Adrian explained to him, flinching as they just narrowly passed an SUV, "It was his crew that killed Riptide's family. Here's what happened: during the attack, Riptide jumped at the poachers to defend his family. He must have bitten down on one of their spears, broken off the point, and swallowed it. When Applegate heard Riptide had been taken to the aquarium, he panicked. He knew that if they found the spear inside him, it could easily be traced back to him. So he had to make sure he got it back before that happened. So he got his mistress to take care of it for him."

"So he's sleeping around with Lousie Bentley too, Monk?"

"Classic case of...red light!" Adrian pointed at it as they went through the next intersection. "But there were no openings for a new trainer at the aquarium," he continued to the captain, "So she created an opening by getting to Rachel Albertson and killing her. Once she'd been hired, she destroyed the X-ray machine so they couldn't find the spear. Bob Nack must have suspected she was up to something, however. On the night of the murder, he confronted her about everything. There was a heated argument, and she stabbed him."

"But how'd she make it look like the whale did it?" Stottlemeyer inquired.

"I didn't remember it until now; the lid for one of the exhibit crates in the back for the jaws of a prehistoric shark species was nailed on wrong from the other crates around it. I cleaned back there, I don't know why it didn't register until now. Maybe because I was too intoxicated by having a friend. But anyway, Louise must have decided that the best way to cover it up was to make it look like Riptide did it. So she placed Nack's body in the jaws and crushed it in them to make it look like he was the victim of a whale attack. Then she cleaned them out and removed the jaws from the building."

"That kind of sounds dumb on her part, Monk. Why do something that would draw even more attention to the whale when she hoped to get that spear back quietly?"

"I didn't say it was a genius plan," Adrian admitted, "I guess she assumed that Riptide would be slaughtered immediately for it, and she'd cut open the corpse and get the evidence before anyone noticed it."

"And today's attack?"

"She must have realized--or Applegate realized--that after having been through a traumatic experience with spears, Riptide would go nuts at the sight of one," Adrian theorized, "She must have been standing behind the curtains and held it up as I was getting on top of him, and it made him panic. That was a perfect cover; with hundreds of witnesses, everyone would believe the rogue whale theory, and Riptide woud be destroyed as a menace. But she and Applegate aren't going to wait; they're going to kill him now to get the spear, probably using animal control as..."

"Here we are," Dr. Kroger announced, pulling up right at the aquarium's front door. Adrian sprang from the car like a rabbit. "Get everyone down here as quick as possible," he called through the window at the phone, "I'll save my friend."

"So you're friends with the whale again, Monk?" Stottlemeyer seemed both confused and intrigued.

"I, I think I got a little hasty earlier," the detective admitted.

"What do you want me to do?" Dr. Kroger asked, shifting into park.

"Could you call Harold and tell him to rot in Hell for me?" Adrian proposed wishfully.

"I mean seriously, Adrian," Dr. Kroger rebuffed him.

"Oh, well," Adrian sounded disappointed, "Watch the exits, make sure no one leaves the building. If I'm not back in five minutes, call everybody."

He ran towards the front door and gave it a hard yanking. It was locked tight. Louise and Applegate had probably hid in the building all day, he reasoned. Sighing, for he knew what he had in mind was going to be very messy, he hefted the nearby trash can and drove it through the door, shattering the glass. He stepped through the hole in the glass and rushed towards the whale exhibit, straining as hard as he could to ignore the urge to go back and sweep up the shards. Right away he saw a sign that things were very wrong: the night watchman lay on the ground, a blow mark visible on his head. Adrian felt for the man's pulse; he was thankfully only unconscious.

Then he heard the sound of a gunshot ringing out from the back; the holding tank behind the main exhibit, he knew. With a terrible wrenching in his stomach, he took the watchman's gun from its holster, wiped it against his tuxedo as hard as he could, and barreled towards the door to the holding tank, from behind which a second shot was now ringing out. The detective raised his foot and kicked the door--and immediately hopped backwards, clutching his foot in pain. "Too thick," he stated the obvious out loud. He stepped back further and ran at the door, attempting to break it in, but at the last second it was flung open, and he found himself sprawling to the floor. Another gun was pressed against his temple before he could get up. "Put it on the floor," Louise ordered him.

Adrian let go of the gun. Another shot rang out. "Hold still, you stupid whale!" Applegate was yelling from the other end of the tank, where he was firing at a wailing, zigzagging Riptide. "Just let him go, Larry," Adrian told him, "We know everything."

"YOU may, Monk, but that won't help you or this thing," Applegate fired again, just barely missing Riptide's tail, "Kill him, baby."

Louise cocked her gun. "Uh, can, can I tie my shoes first," Adrian proposed quickly, "Can't, can't die if they're not straight."

Louise rolled her eyes. "Ten seconds, that's all," she told him sternly, stepping back. In a flash, Adrian swatted the gun away from her, jumped to his feet, and reared his arm back for a punch...

But his fist wavered in midair halfway to Louise's face. He simply couldn't bring himself to hit a woman regardless of the circumstances. This hesitation gave Louise free reign to wallop him with two left hooks and a haymaker that sent him back to the floor. She took hold of his collar and dragged him to the edge of the tank. "So long, you blathering imbecile," she snickered, shoving his head under the water. Adrian strained to rise back up, but she was too strong for him. His head started spinning. He couldn't hold out for long...


	11. Chapter 11

There came a thunderous rush of water from the side, and Adrian suddenly felt a collission rock him. The rest of his body went into the tank, as did Louise herself. With an enraged roar, Riptide lunged straight at her, causing her to scramble away towards the far end of the tank in panic. Adrian hauled himself out and saw Applegate raising a spear, ready to hurl it at the whale. "No you don't!" the detective bellowed, charging at him and grabbing Applegate's arm as he started to throw. The spear limply tumbled into the tank nowhere near the still pursuing Riptide. Applegate pulled his gun on Adrian, but before he could squeeze the trigger, Riptide jumped out of the water in front of them and delivered a hard whack to the fishing magnate's face with his tail. Applegate tumbled backwards into the tank as well as dozens of cops came abruptly swarming in. "Nobody move!" Stottlemeyer bellowed to the suspects in the tank, "Louise Bentley, Larry Applegate, you're both charged with murder and attempted murder."

"It was all his idea, I swear!" Louise pointed hard at a livid Applegate.

"Save it for the judge, Louise, because I sure don't want to hear it," Stottlemeyer shook his head hard. He personally snapped the handcuffs on her, then walked back over to the side of the tank, where a strange sight awaited him. "So, you were able to save the whale after all," he remarked, amazed that Adrian was snuggling up with Riptide.

"More like he saved me, Captain," Adrian corrected him. He even dared to lay his head directly on top of Riptide's. "I'm sorry, pal, I really am," he told his friend, "I should have realized they'd been up to that from the beginning, and you wouldn't have been put through this whole nightmare. Can, can you forgive me?"

Riptide rolled over and gave Adrian a good hard lick on the face. "Well, I meant forgive me any way OTHER than that way," the detective whimpered, but that was soon replaced by a smile as he went back to embracing Riptide, his best friend. "You see, he forgives me," he told Dr. Kroger, who was squeezing his way in through the hoardes of exiting cops.

Dr. Kroger nodded in agreement. "Speaking of forgiveness, Adrian," he began, "Don't you think Natalie deserves some as well?"

"Why is it that everyone always takes her side automatically?" Adrian sighed.

"I'm not taking sides, Adrian," Dr. Kroger said calmly, "This situation has no right or wrong side. I do agree that certainly your opinion should have weight. In fact, I discussed this matter with Natalie when she came in, and she admitted on her own accord that sometimes she does push you a little too hard. She's willing to step back and not push as hard if you're willing to accept her apology for her actions. In fact she came to your apartment earlier to apologize. Now I think that whatever problems the two of you might have can be very easily sorted out by communication and compromise. What do you say, Adrian?"

He extended his cell phone towards the detective. Adrian looked back and forth between the phone and the psychiatrist. "Well, I'd probably turn into a living wreck without her anyway," he shrugged. He hesitantly dialed Natalie's number. "Um, Natalie, it's, um, me," he said slowly, "Uh, about you being fired...I, I think I got a little...um...overstressed there..."

* * *

"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done, Mr. Monk," Bonnie was commending him the next afternoon as they stood atop the deck of one of several boats surrounding a makeshift pen at the mouth of the bay. 

"Any, anything for a friend like Riptide," Adrian nodded softly. It was a bittersweet time for him; while he was glad to know that the case was over, the spear had been successfully removed from inside Riptide by the aquarium doctors, and the villains were going to prison (even better, Lousie had agreed to cop a plea bargain where she'd not only testify against Applegate and reveal the location of Rachel Albertson's body, but she'd also give the authorities the names of the various international poaching syndicates Applegate had been doing business with), he was saddened knowing that in just a few minutes, his friend would leave him forever. Down in the pen, Riptide seemed to sense this as well, for he was now swimming very slowly in circles near the gate, looking depressed.

"He won't really be gone as long as you remember him, Mr. Monk," Natalie leaned over his shoulder.

"I, I know that," he said quietly, "Not least of all because you've said it at least ten times so far this morning." He took a deep breath. "I'd, I would like to say thank you, for letting me get to meet him. I, I just wish you hadn't been so unilaterally adamant about it..."

"Mr. Monk, I try and get you to do things like this because I worry about you," she looked deep into his eyes, "Not out of spite. I would never deliberately put you in harm's way for anything. And I have to admit, you are sort of right that sometimes I get a little carried away if it seems like easy money's at hand...although if my salary stays this low much longer..."

"Not that again," he rolled his eyes, "Just when this was starting to be a constructive conversation..."

"But the point is," she continued, "I don't want to see you alone and miserable all the time. I pick out things I think can really help you. And if you like new things in the end, you'll end up a little happier. And I think this turned out all right in the end, am I right?"

"I, I guess so," Adrian conceded, "Just, in the future, so you know, I'd like to warm to things on my own, without pressure. I, I am glad that you do worry about me, though. It's nice that somebody does."

Natalie cracked a small smile. There came the sounds of levers and pulleys being activated. "We're all ready!" came the cries of several crewman. Adrian took a hard gulp. "I guess it's time," he said slowly. The two of them strolled over to the bow, where Riptide was waiting for them. Natalie leaned down to the edge and stroked the whale's nose. "Thank you for helping Mr. Monk," she told him, looking like she would break down into tears as well, "Remember, your life isn't over yet; somewhere out there, there's another whale just waiting to meet you and help you get started again." She held up her phone, now set on camera, "Say goodbye to Julie; she would have come if it wasn't a school day, but she'll miss you too."

Riptide let out a low bleat that could easily have been a goodbye call. Natalie stepped back to let Adrian forward, then respectfully walked away so the two of them could be alone. Adrian could swear the whale was crying. With a low sob of his own, he hugged him one last time. "Just...just please don't forget me," he could barely manage the words, "I'll stop by the harbor once a month; just promise you'll be back sometime."

He didn't want to let go. But he knew he had to. With his shoulders sagging, he trudged towards the stern, and the lever that opened the gate to the pen. He grasped it, closed his eyes, and threw it as hard as he could. Loud cheers rang out from the crew, but Adrian couldn't bear to look. His head slumped forward to the railing. "Out of my life," he whimpered softly, "Just like everyone else I ever cared for."

A pair of sympathetic hands came to rest on his shoulders. "He won't forget," Bonnie reassured him, "Trust me."

"I guess you don't want a wipe this time, even though you touched him all over," Natalie added.

Adrian shook his head. He finally looked back up. The Bay looked calm and peaceful, with no signs of life visible. Who knew what would happen to Riptide from here, he wondered. Would he find another family? Or would he wander straight into another group of poachers? Or would his fate be something different entirely? He'd probably never know. And in a way, that probably was for the best.

For the longest time, the three of them stood staring out into the placid waters. Finally, Adrian had to look away. His gaze fell on Natalie's watch. "Well, the show starts in about four hours," he said quickly, "We, we might as well head on over to Ambrose's and get ready. Ac, Actually," he turned towards Bonnie, "You, you wouldn't mind, if you have the time...Ambrose does tend to like it when we bring company..."

"I'd love to come," she looked thrilled that he had invited her, "It's going to take a little while to get everything here packed up, but I should be there in time. Ten, right?"

"Nine," Natalie corrected her, "They want more viewers this year."

"Good thought," she agreed, "Care to help?"

"Anything for friends," Adrian nodded. As they started to pack up, he thought he heard a loud call from under the Golden Gate. He turned quickly enough to see a flash of black and white sinking into the water. "Don't, don't worry about me," he said out loud, "I'll be just fine. And don't worry. I certainly won't forget either."

THE END


End file.
